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I love to talk shop with some of my favorite people. I'm a big fan of simple living, but it's not just about getting rid of your stuff—it’s about living holistically with your life’s purpose. On the show, I talk with other people about what that looks like for them. Whatever their passion, that's what's on tap: food, travel, writing, books, parenting, work, fashion, and everything in between. Head here!

Upstream Field Guide is a self-guided course to help you discover what it looks like in your life to simplify, discover your purpose and passions, and take the risks necessary to live according to that purpose—to live upstream. Head here to check it out.

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Create, order, buy (or win!) your holiday cards in plenty of time

by Tsh Oxenreider

Tsh is the founder of this blog and just finished traveling around the world with her husband and 3 kids. Her latest book is Notes From a Blue Bike, and believes a passport is one of the world's greatest textbooks.

This giveaway is now closed.

The first giveaway for November comes to you from one great company and from, well, yours truly. And it also happens to coincide with the next project in the 12 Weeks to Prepare for Christmas series.

Now’s the best time to start working on your holiday card plans. These days, sending digital newsletters or digital cards is the norm, but I still enjoy sending out the tried-and-true snail mail method (though yes, I detest paper clutter). For me, it’s all part of the holiday spirit to take a family photo, address and stamp envelopes, and lovingly display the ones I receive in return.

If you plan to include a family photo in your card this year, take your first shot this week while you’ve still got plenty of time, so that you’re not rushed and have time to try again. And if you’ve collated your address list, you should already know how many cards you need to order. It’ll save you money to order early with some shops, including mine.

Start addressing envelopes now, just a few at a time, and you’ll be golden by early December, when you can mail all your cards in one fell swoop. Keep your address list and envelopes in a convenient location, and write out a few at a time here and there. It’ll be painless.

If you plan on sending out photo cards this year, then I’ve got an chance for you to win some in this giveaway. One reader will win a customized high-resolution digital photo card file of their choice from Chickpea Designs, my graphic design shop. The file is yours to keep forever – you can make as many prints as you want, when you want. In addition, you will receive 10 5×7 prints of your photo card, free.

(And although I’m referring to holiday cards here, I’ve also got baby announcements, save-the-date cards, and birthday invites – any of those designs are eligible for this contest.)

The second addition to the giveaway is from PictureItPostage. You will win two sheets of personalized US postage stamps – simply upload your photo on their site, edit and align it, and voila – stamps with your children (or dog, or hamster, or neighbors) are headed your way.

PictureItPostage also has a hilarious contest going on right now – until November 19, upload your worst holiday photo, whether it be flat-out embarrassing or simply unflattering. Starting December 1, people can vote for their favorite photos – and two grand prize winners will win a new Canon Digital SLR camera and five sets of stamps. Plus, think how entertaining it will be to endlessly peruse horrible photos. Now that’s the gift that keeps on giving.

2. For a second entry, email me at simplemomblog (at) gmail (dot) com with the secret code in the email’s subject line (no need to write anything in the email’s body, as it won’t be read). To find the secret code, make sure you’ve subscribed to Simple Mom’s feed either via RSS or via email, and look in the footer of any post.

3. For a third entry, mention this giveaway on your blog, and make sure I somehow find out about it.

This giveaway will end on Friday, November 7, midnight CST. I hope you win!

Comments

Favorite Holiday. ..? Never used to be Christmas…but lately it is? I think we’ve gotten ourselves back into a better holiday place…where it’s not all about the shopping and such, more about the fam, ya know?

I’ll blog about ya later in the week…I might need a reminder…?
I love the example photo card! off to see more of them…

Christmas….its always been a special holiday for my family growing up. Its the one time of year that my husband and I get to see both sides of our families. We live over 5 hours from each of them, so its nice to get to spend time with all (different weekends though). But most importantly, I love Chirstmas because we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus. So Easter is a tie for the favorite holiday too!

My favorite holiday is definitely Christmas. Thanksgiving is a close second. I enjoy all of the traditions my family has created for both holidays and I think that is what makes them both so special to me.

My favorite holiday is Christmas. It always has been and as I have gotten older and had a family of my own, I wanted my children to enjoy the Holiday wtih innocence and realization for the reason why we celebrate this Holiday. I also want them to remember that it’s not about what you get, it is about what you give and what you have already been given.

Christmas! We love to celebrate the birth of the Savior with traditions we’ve made since we’ve been married…28 years worth.

I’ve sent photo Christmas cards since my oldest two were 4 and 2 years old. They are 19 and 17 now plus we have a 6-year-old. I would love to win this! It gets more and more expensive every year, but I just can’t part with the tradition.

My favorite, yet most difficult holiday is Christmas. I love everything about it. Well, except the fact that we live no where near any of our family and that is such a big part of the holiday for me that it makes me a little sad every year to be so far away. This year though, my parents are buying us plane tickets to fly home with our daughter for Christmas till new years, which will make it all that much more special.

I do like Christmas, but I am not one who decorates a lot. I like to do something “different” – and if we travel I don’t decorate at all. Last year instead of a regular Christmas tree, we had an orange tree. We’ll plant it in the yard.

My favorite holiday is actually Christmas. I love the smells, the views, the reason, everything but the hussle and bussle of shopping. I agree, the best way to send out Christmas greetings is through the mail. In an attempt to be the first one to get a Christmas card to me, my sister gave me my first Christmas card on October 30th!

It’s a family tradition that he proposes again every year, only now there’s the additional sound of the tiny hands of our son clapping in the background and the coffee has been traded in for cocoa so we can all enjoy it. Bliss!

My favourite holiday is Christmas. It has nothing to do with gifts – I would love the holidays just as much without them – but I love the traditions. I love the tree, the decorations, the snow, the hymns, and I love to bake our Christmas treats, usually starting around now.

My favorite holiday is Christmas – I just love being with family and watching them open the gifts I give to them. I also LOVE decorating for the season and baking cookies and the music and, and……
Thanks for the opportunity! I already subscribe to your feed, so I twittered about it! (twitter.com/CaraM)

I am a huge fan of Thanksgiving… I love the joy of gathering together to share food & fun with our loved ones. I agree with other commenters that it is much less stressful because there are no gifts to purchase! It remains just about being thankful for all our blessings.

I absolutely love Christmastime. I love the baking and preparations that go into making the holiday special for my family. I love spending time with my family and laughing and making memories. But most importantly, I love the true reason for the season–the birth of our Lord and Savior!

My favorite holiday is Easter–I love decorating the eggs, and of course the egg hunts. Although, I’m especially looking forward to Christmas this year–as it is my son’s first–I think Christmas through a mother’s eyes will give it even more meaning…

Your cards are beautiful! I’d love to win some…my favorite holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas, with Christmas taking the lead over Thanksgiving! I just love the decorating, the food, the visits with family,and the feeling of both, though!

My favorite holiday…Christmas with the Season of Advent. We are doing the Jesse Tree this year, thanks for your helpful post about that.

I hope I can win this one, I love your photo card designs! I am doing it all to up my chances. Friends and family that read my blog may end up trying for this giveaway as well. Now I need to email you with that secret code.

I really don’t know what my favorite holiday is. Each one has it’s own traditions that make it special. The New Year is up there though. There’s something about starting fresh and reflecting on the past year (and when I was young, permission to stay up way past your bedtime)… and I love the fireworks.

Favorite Holiday: Thanksgiving! Love it, love Autumn, love the food, love the family gathering, love focusing on gratefulness, love the crisp air…I could go on. But I will stop and get back to homeschooling my kids.
Julie

My favorite is a combo of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the weather at Thanksgiving, the music of Christmas, the relaxed nature of Thanksgiving, the MEANING of Christmas, but also the meaning behind Thanksgiving. Indecision is the key to flexibility!
darcy

Definitely Christmas. I love all the excitement, decorating and joy that surrounds winter holidays. It doesn’t matter to me whether people are celebrating Solstice, Hanukkah or Christmas, when everyone gets into the winter holiday spirit lifejust seems better.

Lately it’s definitely Christmas. I work outside the home, and we get that week off, so in addition to the fact that I love the celebration of Christmas, the gathering of family, etc, it is also more relaxed than many of the other holidays for me.

Great giveaway! I have a giveaway going on right now that would make a great Christmas present…

My favorite holiday has always been Christmas. I just love the winter weather, and being with family – and this year, we are expecting our first baby just before Christmas, so it’s going to be an ESPECIALLY exciting holiday for us!

My favorite holiday is Halloween since I have 4 little kids. It’s fun to plan out costumes and make them. They get so excited about it and all the decorations. Plus we coordinate their birthday party theme with our costumes so it’s a couple weeks full of fanfare!